Xmen evolution Nova
by OpalStorm
Summary: Hayleigh Trueheart was just like any other teenage girl, until one day she woke up with an "gift", that day she met the x-men.
1. Chapter 1

A little preview of an x-men fan fiction :D more to come  
I always believe that everyone has something unique about them. I stand by that, but to be honest I could never find a singular quality about myself that made me special or unique, and somehow I see all the abilities that everyone else possesses...

Until one day, I discovered a so- called gift though I thought it more like a curse. I was afraid that I would hurt someone. I tried to block the power out, but the energy began to build up. The light engulfed me, and we became one. As the energy released in a sudden outburst, the light broke free, only to leave me feeling weak and lifeless.

During my outburst, figures appeared trying to snap me from the light. That was the day I encountered a group of remarkable people known as the X-Men. The day my life changed forever...


	2. Chapter 1 Power Unleashed

Reviews and comment please,:) i do not own X-men

Light... Burning... Burning white light surrounded her, the fire closing in on all sides. Her reactions became more frantic and frightened. The ring of fire danced closer and her skin causing prickles with the heat. Beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead and arms, suffocating from the lack of oxygen.

Even in her disorientated state, she thought only one thing,"I am going to die."

Flames licked at her skin, the heat so intense she can barely hear herself scream, the pain overwhelming all her senses, eager to devour her completely. Yet she is drawn to them as if safe within them. She shrieks again, wishing someone would come to her rescue, or least let her die a painless death. She screams again

"This is my fate and I welcome the Reaper." She cries out drawing what she conceived as her last painful breath.

A cold sweat beads, running down her cheeks as she wakes with her heart beating rapidly against her chest as if it's trying to escape. Glancing around the room, she sees nothing apparent or out of place even, though the smell of smoke lingers in the air. The source of the smell becomes clear when she moves against the sheets and feels the hard, rough surface brush against her. She leaps from the bed to see the blackened sheets burned in a perfect outline of her body. Her eyes widen when she realizes the itch on her arm is due to flaking, black dust covering it and as she looks closer she realises it's ash coating her once fair skin.

Golden highlights mixed with the normal chocolate brown locks obscure her vision as she backs away from the bed in shock. The wall stops any further retreat and she sinks to the floor pulling her knees up to her chest, clasping them in a stunned embrace.

"I am a freak, a misfit, an oddity of nature." She weeps.

**Meanwhile in Bayville, NY.**

**ALERT**

**Discovery: Mutant signature**

**Extrapolation Complete**

**Identity complete.**

**Name: Hayleigh Joy Trueheart**

**Residence: PalmBeach, FL**

**Age: 16**

**Charles Xavier looked up at Cerebro's screen. As he took Cerebro off his head, the professor placed his fingers on his temples and sent out a telepathic message, "Loganprep the blackbird, Cerebro has detected a new mutant; we are going to have to assemble the whole team for this one."**

Questions of her sanity and the seemingly horror-fuelled nightmare occupy her mind on the walk to school. She'd heard the endless rumours about people going missing, of the mutations that fed peoples fear. The revving of an engine behind her pulled her from her thoughts and she turned around to see a black car closing the distance between them. Her pace quickened, trying to pretend she didn't see it and hurried towards school, the couple of blocks feeling more like miles. Her breathing became more frantic as panic and fear took hold. She rounds a corner and chances a glance behind again and the car is gone, neither sight nor sound of it, disappeared without a trace.

The bell rings as she sprints to her first lesson, her focus on reaching the room and trying to forget the events of the morning. The hallway goes on forever, miles of the shiny green floor tiles looming endlessly in front of her. She can feel the eyes of her classmates on her, their whispers closing in, rebounding on the closed wooden doors and stark off white cement walls. Metal lockers creaked open or slammed shut like the doors of prison startling her and she prepared to run. Nausea bubbled up inside as wafts of perfume, sweat and stale food assaulted her.

She staggers into the safety of the empty bathroom but thoughts bounce through her head, "Do they talk about me? Do they condemn my choices?"

She gets her first real look at her hair as she slowly raises her head to look in the mirror. The once chocolate tresses now lined with golden honey framing her stunned and fear-filled face.

"Where is the hair dye when you need it?" she asks herself as she clenches her fist and slams it down on the sink in a blind rage.

A bright light swirled in front of her, making her squint in amazement at the glowing pulse of red energy. Fear and disgust filled the face that reflected back at her from the mirror. Her face. The face of Hayleigh Joy Trueheart.

"Hayleigh?" A tall girl, not much older than her, with flowing crimson hair asked. "Hayleigh?" She repeated, "Are you okay? I know what's going on and I can help you."

She spun around to face her in fear. "Who...Who are you? Stay away from me!" she backed further away and the girl slowly extended her hand as if she was trying to make a connection.

"Hayleigh, I want you to watch me for second, please."

Hayleigh mirrors her smile and nods, her gaze landing on the bracelet on her wrist, and as the girl focused on it, it slowly slid over her wrist, floating in the air. She lowered her hand and the bracelet followed the same swift movement landing in Hayleigh's upturned hands. Fear gripped her.

"How... how did you do that?" she stammered and the girl simply smiled.

"The same way you can with your gift. I woke up one morning with this ability to move things with my mind."

The rage began to bubble up inside. "NO! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, STAY AWAY FROM ME."

The door slammed behind her as she ran, her hair whipping at her back, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

"Why is she here?" She wonders as she sprints for the front doors, sparing a quick look behind her to make sure she's not following.

In that split second of distraction, two male figures appear in front of her. One of them have dark brown hair and wears red tinted glasses that look more like goggles, and a dark jumpsuit with a huge yellow 'X' on the front. He's tall and slender, unlike the other figure who is brawny and muscular. An orange and black mask covers his face matching the rest of his suit. She examines the area for an escape route but they have them covered.

"Kid, we are not going to hurt you." The brawny man said as he walked closer.

She can feel the sun beating down on her, creating a strange feeling inside and she falls to the ground in pain. The feeling quickly engulfs her, her skin flashing imitating the golden rays. They walked closer. She holds out her hand and the energy shoots straight toward the brawny man. The burst pushes her back against the wall and her hair whips around her. He flew backwards at the same time, out the doors and slamming into the black car that followed her earlier. She drops her hand away and the energy burst stops.

"Wolverine, are you okay?" The other figure shouted to the downed man.

"Yes" he gruffly replied, pulling himself to his feet and dusting off his suit.

She runs while they're distracted. Not stopping until she reaches the forest that borders the school.

Running through the forest and weaving in and out of the tall trees, the brush catches her clothes. The wind whips her hair about her face, stinging her cheeks as it lashes across her vision making her stumble, again, and again, but miraculously she keeps her feet under her as she flees from the dark figures. She can hear them behind her, but the sound of her ragged breathing and pounding heart soon drowns everything else out. She pauses behind a tree to catch her breath.

Wolverine and the other man pause to talk but they're too far away for her to hear. She leans closer into the trunk in an attempt to hide herself, daring to peek around it to check what they're doing. They've gone, vanished, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

Heavy breathing that wasn't her own met her ears and she slowly turned to face Wolverine just a few feet away.

"Kid, just stay where you are, we're not going to hurt you. Cyclops," He spoke to his wrist, into some sort of transmitter, "I've found her."

She let herself slide down the thick trunk, as the feeling came over her, the building of something inside her. Her hands began to tingle and glow, the energy emerging again. Wolverine's eyes widened as Cyclops appeared.

Guttural screams pour from her mouth leaving her throat raw as her feet leave the ground, moving higher and higher, taking her further away. Control of the flight is difficult but she's a fast learner and guides herself to the edge of the forest. The winds making her sway almost like a feather floating gently against the currents. I land roughly on a cliff edge looking over the turquoise sea and stands there looking down at the angry waves crashing against the rocks far beneath.

"I don't know what to do... where to go…" She sinks to her knees, closes her eyes and raises her face to the sky hoping for answers…

A loud whoosh breaks her thoughts as a black jet hovers in front of her. She scurries backwards away from it and the cliff, her back hitting something hard. She looks up to see Wolverine with a twisted smile and Cyclops to the left side. They each place a hand under her arm and lift her to her feet.

They hold her in place despite her struggles, letting her pull against them until she's too tired to thrash any more. They slowly release her. The black jet lowers to the ground and several people appear from within it. The crimson haired girl from the school bathroom and two younger looking girls, one with white pieces of hair framing her face and the other with brown hair in a ponytail, stepped forward. All wore similar uniforms as well, followed by an older woman with chocolate skin and snow white hair, she wore a silvery cape. Next is a guy with dark blue skin, his hands and feet look alien with only two fingers and a thumb on each, and a spaded tail following behind him. The dark skinned guy with blond hair is the last to emerge.

The Sun was blinding her and the feeling she had before is building again only stronger than she's ever felt it. Her body spasms and her head tilts backwards as she's slowly dragged up into the air towards the sun. The figures stare in amazement, as the light engulfs her...

Hayleigh rose into the air and a bright flash caused everyone to shield their eyes from the oncoming rays. The team exchange glances between one another as her appearance changes. The flash revealing the golden figure of Hayleigh, her hair flowing as if lights itself. The energy began to spread down her arms and legs transforming it to a shimmering gold, her hair seeming to absorb the golden colour.

Her eyes shot open to face them, her hand lowering to fire a burst of energy at Nightcrawler and ShadowCat. ShadowCat quickly phrased through it, Nightcrawler teleported beside Cyclops.

"What is her problem?" Nightcrawler commented as she created a shield around herself.

"Wolverine, what's the plan?" Jean questioned as Spyke shot his spikes at her trying to break through her shield, but failing to make it crack.

"The Kid is confused. Let's break the shield first, Nightcrawler teleport Rogue close enough to absorb her power." Wolverine yelled as he reflected the rays with his claws.

Storm began to create a thunderstorm, directing the lightning bolts at the shield. Cyclops fired his lasers. Independently they did nothing to it but combined the shield broke. Jean levitated opposite her, trying to prod her mind and failing. Charles Xavier pushed his wheelchair to the doorway of the jet and placed his fingers on his temples.

"Jean, let's do this together." He speaks in her mind.

They projected themselves with her mind, trying to calm her down. Wolverine nodded at Nightcrawler and Rogue, she removed her glove and Nightcrawler teleported them behind Hayleigh. He wrapped his arms around her waist, while Rogue placed her hand on Hayleigh's head. They both flinched in pain until she removed her hand and Hayleigh began flashing in and out of the golden form.

Nightcrawler extended his hand but didn't reach Hayleigh in time as she fell from the sky into the sea. Wolverine ran off the Cliff, diving in after her. Bubbles hissed from her body as the power dispersed and she returned to human form under the water. He reached for her wrist fighting against the oncoming current. Snagging it, he broke the surface, panting heavily, and scooped Hayleigh's lifeless form into his arms. Jean levitated them up to the cliff top, the water dripping from them.

The x-men crowded around her as Wolverine walked aboard the X-jet and placed her on the medical table.

Charles Xavier appeared beside him placing his hand on her head. "She is powerful. You may want to place the restraints on her for the time being."

"Right Chuck," Wolverine replied as he pressed the button to engage the restraints on her wrists and ankles.

The rest of the X-men took their seats as the X-jet began to take off into the skies. ShadowCat broke the silence, "So, like what are we going to do now?"

"Well we'll see if she wants our help, though if she refuses, she'll be a danger to everyone around her."

Cyclops turned in his seat to face the others, "She will remain in our care until she's fit enough to make that decision. Jean, would you go check on her please?"

Jean nodded as she unbuckled her seatbelt and walked to the back of the Jet. Kitty dissolved through the door, appearing beside her. "She seems peaceful now she's asleep." Kitty commented looking at her still form.

"Yeah, we seemed to be making a connection until I showed her my power" Jean said in a sad tone.

Hayleigh began to toss and turn, her eyes snapped open as she became more aware of her surroundings. She trashed and struggled against the restraints as Jean and Kitty tried to comfort her.

Her hair began to change to again, taking on the golden blonde highlights, and her eyes began to glow. Storm stared at the girl with concern as she placed the needle into her arm and Hayleigh returned to peaceful sleep.

The X-jet disappeared, flying high into the sky, beyond sight of the shadowy figure that watched with interest from the edge of the forest...


	3. Chapter 2 Bonjour Chere

Tossing gently against the blankets, she wakened from her sleep. Her mind hazy as the fog slowly lifted. She clenched the blanket to her chest as stray hairs fell on her face, a few golden ones covering her eyes. A dark blue bed cover made her frown and glance around the room at sky blue walls and a strange furniture near the window.

Letting the covers fall she swung her feet off the bed, tapping them on the floor. Her mind became a jumble of thoughts as she made her way to the window, pressing her palms against the glass, desperate to find a means of escape.

The window offered an amazing view of the azure blue ocean, with the white-foam waves lapping gently against the shore, but she paid no real mind to the sight but pushed the window open inhaling the salty air. A mild breeze pushed against her as climbed out to stand on the ledge. Taking a deep breath to reassure herself, she closed her eyes and jumped.

Leaves brushed against her as she landed inside a bush on the ground. She had to find a way to get out of here. Slowly peeking out from the bushes she listened for danger. The sound of voices gradually drew louder as two figures approached. Her pulse beating behind her eyes as the figures stopped in front of her hiding place. She drew a sharp breath, one of the figures was a girl; short with brown hair that lay flat against her shoulders. The other, a man, was not too different from her, though he had curly short hair; they were both wearing the same black jumpsuit with yellow gloves and boots. A uniform.

"Geez, why does Logan have to have training session so early?" The girl exclaimed.

"Well, this is Logan we are talking about and he doesn't know the meaning of rest." The boy replied.

Hayleigh slowly lowered her heel to the ground, about to back up out of sight. A small twig snapped under her weight, the sound seemingly louder in her panicked state. They turned to the bush, peering at every angle. The male crouched to the ground and his eyes widen as he meets Hayleigh's green ones staring back. He whispered to the girl and they slowly approached her as her back hit the wall.

"Hey, we're not going to hurt you okay. My name's Roberto,"he said offering Hayleigh a hand up.

"Hiya, and my name's Amara. Are you alright?" The girl asked as Hayleigh stayed perfectly still.

Roberto gently tried to lift her, but she struggled against him.

"It is okay. Amara, you don't think that this is the girl Logan and the professor were talking about." He asked in amazement.

They exchanged glances as Roberto tried to keep Hayleigh calm. Amara spoke into a transmitter on her wrist but Hayleigh didn't wait to hear the conversation, she reacted through instincts and ran. Amara and Roberto's shouting behind her made her pick up the pace and run faster. She stole a glance behind her to check if they were following, they were. Tall walls loomed in front of her, dark and threatening, daring her to question their authority. She slowed, coming to a stop in front of it. Turning her head with care, Hayleigh noticed a gate that seemed like the only way of escaping. She had no other choice; the walls were the only obstacle blocking her from her freedom.

She felt the surface of the wall, looking for any spaces that she could use to her advantage when climbing. Just as she lifted herself off the ground, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She spun around to the amused face of Wolverine and she began to franticly buck and thrash against him in an attempt to get him to release her.

"Calm down kid," he said as he moved his hand to her wrist to stop her struggling. "We can help you here, let's head back to the mansion and talk about it, okay?"

The cloud that had obscured the sun moved allowing the sun's rays to shine unhindered on Hayleigh. She absorbed its power, could feel it building inside her until she could take no more.

" Noooo!" she yelled as the sunlight was released straight into wolverine chest.

Wolverine flew through a nearby tree, snarling as he landed. Static fought against her body making her scream in pain and fall to the ground. Wolverines stood up and brushed the dust and bark off. He crossed to where Hayleigh's unconscious body lay and picked her up, her body rocking gently making her arm swing in rhythm as he walked back to the mansion.

Junior mutants filled his mind with questions as he arrived back at the doors, Amara and Roberto pushed through the crowds. Their eyes filled with worry even though they had just met the girl.

"Is she alright Logan?"they asked in unison.

"Yeah she's alright now, as for your training session ...hmmmm... 50 laps for all of you." Logan chuckled as the junior mutants groaned, and began to run.

He slowly opened the front door leading to the foyer, being careful the door didn't hit her. Scott and Jean appeared down the hall, their laughter stopping and their eyes widened the instant they saw Hayleigh in his arms.

"Geez, what happened to her Logan?"Scoot said staring at Hayleigh.

"She tried to run away. Amara and Roberto found her and then I had to catch her before she hurt herself truing to climb the wall." Logan confirmed as Hayleigh gently groaned.

"Logan?" Jean said pointing to Hayleigh.

Logan's arm tensed as her eyelids fluttered, drawing her last aching energy to focus her on the figure. She looked around becoming more frantic, she screamed...

Jean tried to calm her, she gestured for Logan to place her down. He looked unreassuringly at Jean, though he did set her on the floor. Hayleigh's frightened gaze flicking between them.

"Hayleigh, calm down you can trust us," Jean pleaded as Hayleigh took in a deep breath and nodded.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot, my name is Jean, and this is Scott and Logan." Jean introduced her companions as she pointed to Scott and Logan. Logan cracked a smile as well as Scott. Regret surged through her overpowering her fear. Her stomach chose that moment to growl.

"Looks like the kid is hungry, Jean. Scott make sure she gets some food." Logan said as he left them.

Jean guided Hayleigh down the stairs and into the kitchen, with Scott following behind. Hayleigh kept her eyes glued to the ground as she slowly trudged into the kitchen. Scott pulled out a chair for her and motioned her to sit. She did though hesitantly. He took a seat next to her. Jean smiled and placed a bowl of soup in front of her. The mouth-watering aroma filled her nose, the sweet smell of tomato and herbs filled the room. Placing the spoon on the surface of the soup, she brought it up to her month, and swallowed.

The welcome sensation of the smooth tomato soup slid down her throat, but she felt the beady eyes of Scott and Jean watching. She sunk in her chair having barely touched the soup, the conflicting thoughts of the past events lingered in her mind. Jean watched as an emotional mask slipped onto Hayleigh's face and Jean knew if she tried to read her mind, she might panic again.

"Hayleigh we understand what you're going through, and we can help." Jean said as Hayleigh forced a smile.

"What do you mean by helping me?" Hayleigh asked as she stood by her chair.

"We could teach you how to control your gift..." Jean replied.

Hayleigh irrupted Jean before she could finish her sentence."I don't have a gift, just a curse. And where am I anyway?" Hayleigh asked as Professor Xavier rolled in with Logan.

"Allow me to answer that Jean," Professor Xavier said before turning towards Hayleigh. "Hello Hayleigh, you are at Xavier's institute for the gifted, and my name is Charles Xavier."

"Why ... did you bring me here?" Hayleigh stuttered.

"So we can help you with your gift, Hayleigh, we would like you to join us here at the institute."

Hayleigh's eyes widened: "What you want me to live here, No... No... No ...No," She said clenching her fists and shaking her head.

"Hayleigh, you don't have to decide now, but I would like you to think about it, okay?" Professor Xavier said as Logan walked towards her. "In the meantime, you may stay here," Professor said as he left the room.

"Hayleigh, being here would help you with your gift so much, being able to understand it and control it." Jean comforted her." Let me show you."

Jean placed her fingers on her temples, Unsure of what was happening Hayleigh backed further into her seat. A bright light entered her mind, flashing images running through it of Jean's struggle with her powers when they first evolved to now when she could fully control them. She grasped as Jean released the mental hold on her mind.

"See how much Xavier has helped me, he can help you to, we all can" Jean stated.

The smashing sound of a window broke Hayleigh's train of thought as she dodged the oncoming shards of glass. Scott threw his glasses up, reflecting the shards of glass. While Jean froze some shards in the air then brought them down to the ground. A girl with brown hair, wearing a black top with a red 'X' on it and cargo jeans poked her head in and glanced around the room, looking at the damage, she smirked. Scott looked angry as if he was in a blind rage he stormed towards her.

"Jacinta!, What were you thinking?" Scott yelled, and she just stood there.

"Well I thought you said these were double glazed?" She smirked at him as she walked towards Jean.

Jean extended a hand to help Hayleigh from the ground.

"Sorry about that, Name's Jacinta and your name?" Jacinta asked her.

"Hayleigh, nice to meet you," Hayleigh smiled at Jacinta. Logan Jumped over the remains of the window, he narrowed his eyes.

"Jean, tell the professor about her," Logan sighed, "Accident. Jacinta back to training… Hayleigh the professor said we need to get you some supplies, so let's go."

Logan walked through the door leading out of the dining room, Hayleigh quickly followed behind after saying bye to Jean and Scott. Jacinta grinned to herself and looked over at Jean.

"You're not actually going to tell on me are you? Isn't that a little childish?"

" Oh you bet we're telling the professor," Scott said leaving the room with Jean. Jacinta shrugged her shoulders and jumped out the window.

Walking out to the car, Hayleigh had to check behind her a few times to make sure that Logan was right behind her – if not, perhaps she thought about running away, it was too much of a good opportunity for her to pass up. The van was parked right in front of where she was currently standing, with the trees out beyond, lining the sides of the gravel driveway. The mansion wasn't a bad place to be, not really; in actual fact, it was one of the more pleasant places that Hayleigh had visited during her life.

Logan grabbed the keys to the x-van and walked past her, though Hayleigh was still gazing around at all the cars in amazement. Logan slammed his hand on the hood of the car, causing Hayleigh to jump out of her skin in shock.

"What the Hell?" she called out to him, folding her arms as she watched the man walk around the side of the car and push the key into the lock.

When he didn't seem to respond to her, Hayleigh reached out and pulled open the door handle to her own side. Sliding in rather gracefully, she slammed the door behind her, which resulted in a loud bang. Logan grumbled and started the car, looking at her every few seconds before he nodded to her seatbelt.

"You'd better put that on, you never know what might happen to us out on the road, never can be too careful," he muttered as he sent the car surging forwards, resulting in a little scream from his passenger. "Told you so," he laughed, picking up speed down the driveway.

The rest of the journey was quiet, apart from the occasional'chink' of whatever was in the back of the van. Hayleigh daren't ask what it was, seeing as it was highly likely that she'd just get told to shut up and not ask so many stupid questions. She wasn't sure about Logan yet, and he still scared her slightly. The others she could deal with, just not him yet. It didn't look like the two of them were going to get very far in the heavy traffic, so she relaxed in her seat a little, might as well just try to look like she wanted to be there.

"Are yuh alright, kid?" Logan asked her, not even bothering to take his eyes off the road.

His voice was gruff and frustrated, and seemed to tell her that she wasn't the only one that didn't particularly want to be there. She nodded slightly, before pointing out to the road.

"How much further?" she asked him, hoping it wouldn't be too long because she was beginning to feel more awkward as every second ticked by.

"I don't know, but I can take you elsewhere if you're as fed up as I am."

His patience was wearing thin, just as much as hers perhaps, and Hayleigh had to keep on telling herself that he wasn't going to unleash his claws unless he absolutely had to –besides, it would probably hurt him if he were to bother, and retracting them would probably be painful aswell. She closed her eyes briefly, only to open them once again because the van was slowing more so that they could turn around.

The grass verge he reversed onto wasn't very large, but that didn't seem to stop him from tearing it up in order for the van to complete its U-turn. Soon enough, they were back on the road, going the opposite way, back to the Manor. Perhaps the other shopping mall he was taking her to would be a little bit easier for her to escape from with any luck.

Once the van was parked, Hayleigh pushed open the car door and had a look around. It wasn't too shabby, and the large, peeling letters that spelled out "Baville Mall" made the place look a little more welcoming. She slammed the door shut once again and looked over to Logan, who seemed to have done the same thing simultaneously.

"After you," he said, waving a hand towards the large electronic doors that led into the main lobby of the mall.

Hayleigh walked forwards, not wanting to look into his eyes any longer than she really had to, it was unnerving, and frankly, she didn't want to have to deal with that before doing something as interesting as shopping in a place she'd never been before.

The inside of the lobby was bright and had a few stores that lined the two walls that surrounded her. After the automatic doors shut behind them two tall, skinny men dressed in ridiculous outfits greeted them. It was quite a struggle for Hayleigh not to laugh at first, but once they'd handed her a few flyers explaining the events that might possibly be happening at Baville in the near future, she got over herself quickly.

The first store she decided to look in was a store called Topshop, – one she'd shopped at quite a few times in the past. Looking to Logan with her hands on her hips, she asked for some kind of privacy when looking around. She gathered it wasn't his thing when he told her that he'd wait outside the shop for a maximum of fifteen minutes before he came in to find her. No matter how much she wanted to escape from his company forever, she couldn't help but think it was a fair deal, and besides, perhaps he would get lost on his way through the different racks of clothing while she was making her way through the exit with her stuff.

As soon as she was inside, she had a look around and headed over towards a shelf with a few cute-looking shorts folded up in piles. She made sure to take her time whilst doing so, promising herself that she would go over Logan's fifteen-minute limit. How could he possibly even think about giving her a limit on how much shopping she was allowed to do?

That was possibly a girl's worst nightmare.

Picking up the shorts, she turned them over in her hand and looked at the price. She put them back and proceeded to complain to no one at the ridiculous price tag hanging off them. Nothing seemed to catch her eye, and the only reason she was still inside was so that she could kill time and wait for Logan to come in after her.

Finally when she looked back to where she'd come from, Hayleigh could no longer see the door, nor could she see the man who had brought her out there. That probably meant that he couldn't see her either. She sighed, waiting behind one of the changing room doors until the clock's minutes ticked out and her time would come. Sixty more seconds. She whispered each one, standing ready to go as soon as there were just ten seconds left.

Logan struck her as the type of person who wouldn't go back on his word, and would probably be exact with his timings. The seconds were ticking down and she readied herself for the run, worming her way around the shop whilst Logan looked for her. Five, Four, Three, Two… one.

She ran as fast as she possibly could, out of the shop, along the main mall, her feet pounding against the ground of the alleyway. The air was sharp and crisp, stinging against her cheek.

All was silent except for her footsteps and the rustling of leaves from the wind, but yet knew something was wrong. The lingering smell of garage filled the air and rusting of the leaves battling against the street caused goose bumps spread over her body. Slowly glancing around the alleyway, a shadowy moved and a figure appeared. She began to feel the pulsing energy build up inside her. The golden highlight spread further across her hair.

"WHO'S THERE, COME OUT." She screamed and the pulsing energy surrounded her hands.

The shadow figure grew closer; her courage suddenly whisked out of her.

Run… Run faster, she mentally yelled to herself but the figure gradually closed the distance between them.

Her heart was pounding, sweat ran down her body, and her leg muscles were burning. Nevertheless, she tried too. She stumbled behind a wall, gently slowing her frantic breathing to a hasher pace. Daring herself to look, she slowly peered around the corner of the wall, only to see that the shadowy figure was nowhere to be seen, she sighed with relief as she leaned against the wall.

"Hello cheré," A mystery voice said.

Hayleigh's eyes widened. His accent was a thick Cajun, his hair a dark brown, and a few inches long and parted down the middle. A black mask of some kind framed but still showed his face. He wore a trench coat and had metal plates around his foot.

He looked down at the startled girl, "What are you doing?" he asked in a low, smooth voice. "I'm not going to hurt you... yet."

Hayleigh looked up at him, still trying to work out whether he was friend or foe.

Taking a deep breath, trying to even out her breathing rate, "What are you doing? who ARE you?"

He smiled gently. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

A light drizzle began to fall, creating a thin layer of water-droplets in her messy hair and her thin clothes, but it didn't seem to touch him. She shivered wrapping her clothes more tightly around her. Still breathing heavily she looked up at him again. He had a striking figure and an interesting angular face, he held himself with a sense of pride.

"Why were you chasing me anyway?"

He crouched down in front of her and cocked a small smile. Extending a hand, Hayleigh accepted it and was hoisted from the ground as the Cajun smirked at her slowly helping her up,

"Well I... better.. be going!" she stammered, forcing out the words, bolting in the opposite direction.

He smirked and grabbed her wrist. "I don't think so, chere," he smirked as he brought her to face him.

"Who are you?" She spat as she squirmed under his grasp. "Just leave me alone." She pulled her wrists away from him. "Who do you think you are?"

"Remy Le' Beau at your services, but my friends call me Gambit."

"Gambit?" She tugged hard against him again. "What kind of name is that anyway?"

"Argh, good question, chere. You see I like to play the cards," he pulled out a card with his free hand and stares at it with amusement.

Hayleigh seemed confused, the card begins to turns an orange colour. He throws the card at the bin and it explodes. Gambit shields her from the blast.

"What on earth was that?" She screamed, then blushed, feeling embarrassed by her overreaction. Her heart and mind wanted to run, run far away from here, away from him, but her feet where rooted to the spot.

"My power chere, like yours," Gambit smirks, "I don't think so chere," he smirked as she lowered her head.

"No need to be shame of your power, chere"

Her face becomes even more red as her pupils widen. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to smile.

"And kind fellow, do you know everything about me?" She hissed. "Because it seems I have a bit of a stalker, otherwise, since I have never met you before."

"Aww, chere I know lot about you, but you know little about moi," he chuckles, "you need help with your powers."

"Oh I do, do I?" she smirked, looking at him and taking in his features. "I'll be the judge of that, thanks very much. Now just get away from me - go back to where you came from," she spat.

"Calm down, chere. I am only trying to help," gambit said,"I believe the people can help you."

"What people?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

He couldn't possibly know about them, could he? Hayleigh hadn't seen him around before, and she was pretty sure that she'd remember someone like that.

"Nothing... yet chere you will find out in good time."

"Well I don't want to give up my 'good time' for you, do I?"

"Hayleigh, are you down here?" Logan snarled.

"Ah I believe that is my cue to leave, aurevoir Chere, until we met again."

Logan's shadow apeared around the wall, Gambit winked as he disappeared into the shadows. Hayleigh looked over to the voice before turning back to Gambit as he left.

"Logan, I just... I think I got lost. How did you find me?"

"Your scent is hard to miss," he sniffed the air, "It seems that someone else was here, did you see anyone shorty?"

She looked down at the ground where the 'Gambit' person had been and shook her head. "Nope, I didn't see anyone."

"Well okay kid, let's go." Logan gestured for Hayleigh to follow glancing around the alleyway not believing what Hayleigh said.

Hayleigh obliged, her head feeling heavier than it had. She blinked once, carrying on as she walked behind Logan, trying to keep up.

"Hurry up."

"I'm doing my best!" she shouted at him, moving her legs faster as she sneezed once, wondering how she'd gone from perfectly fine to perfectly rubbish in a matter of minutes.

Logan paused; he turned round and rised his eye brows. She walked into his back.

"Geez, Kid are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she muttered, walking on ahead of him. "Come on then, I thought you were the one wanting ME to hurry up."

Hayleigh shook her head and smirked, picking up her pace, disappearing out of the alleyway.


	4. Chapter 3 Jacinta

PLease review three reviews until I posted two more chapters.

I want to thanks my friends skullcandyeater and throw gloves at me , thank you xxxxx and to Remi and Alice , I hope we are always friends :D cause you guys are the best and are amazing

Suddenly a loud piercing stream of light exploded in Hayleigh's face, blinded by its brightness. Feeling disgruntled with her sleep and moaned for more sleep, but the devilish light of the sun begged for justice to win over her. She tried to open his eyes, adjusting to the dim bedroom light. How long have I've been asleep, Hayleigh thought. Feeling the cold floor surface against her feet as she stepped out of bed, her pyjamas bottom lowered bellowed her ankles. She yawned, the ocean breath batted against her skin as she remembered the past day. Though she was uncertain, the overcoming whelms to explore the mansion, even possibly finding a way to escape. She slowly pulled the door to a jar, peering down the hallways to see if it was safe. Since the coast was clear, leaning her nose against the frame of the door, rolling her eyes along the hallway. She breath a sigh of relief, though this was followed by a growl from her stomach

Okay, I need to remember where the kitchen was: Hayleigh thought as she tapped her head, trying to jog her memory. Against her better judgment, she opened the door and proceeded to walk down the carpeted hallway. Paintings and some exotic plants in various vases lined the hall. She felt almost as if she was being watched as she glanced over her shoulder. She proceeded to the right, hoping that her memory would kick in to help her find her way. She felt the brushes of the carpet rub against her as she walked faster. The corridor seemed almost like a mirror of the other part, the exactly same features. She walked farther down what seemed like endless corridor, she looked like a tourist lost from their group; clueless and unaware. And, she just hoped and prayed that no one would see. Oh, the humiliation she would feel if someone was watching, as she frantically swung her head around all possible ways to exist. But she seemed to quickly losing hope of finding a way out, she slowly hit her palm against her face.  
Luckily just before she was about to lose hope, she came across the open landing that led to any elegant staircase. Slowly glancing across the landing, she saw huge glass windows overlooking the grounds, and a red carpet leading to different directions. Hayleigh slowly made her way towards it when she realised a much more practical solution; an elevator. The elevator seemed to stick out compared to the rest of the building, as it had a huge 'x' on it, she traced her hand across the symbol, remembering the day that she first saw that symbol. The door whooped open, revealing the inside of the elevator. The interior was simple, yet stylish. She slowly stepped into it: she examined the elevator. The door suddenly slammed shut, she rushed over to the door. She clenched her fist as she began to bang hard against the mental which began to hurt after a while.

A small pause in between her hitting, the elevator began excessively too. Jacinta hadn't actually meant to find the danger room that easily, but she was always confused as to what led were around the mansion, and obviously she'd made it in there by accident. Looking around, she kept close to the edge of the room, hoping someone else would enter and take the brunt of whatever happened to come at them. Stepping back a few, Jace heard a voice behind her - one that she could only remember too well. The corner of her lip curled upwards into a smirk and she called out to the man whom she knew as 'Wolverine.'  
"It's not good to stalk little girls, eh Logan?" she called out, turning to face him finally. He ignored her, expression remaining unchanged as he spoke back to her. "It's not good to come in here unprepared now, is it kiddo? How about you get yourself training with your abilities, rather than that mouth o' yours, eh?"  
The door slammed open again, then Hayleigh struck her head out to explore. the hallways were like sometime out of a sci-fiction movie. Mental, high- tect, and all the doors all had the same 'x' on them, she slowly glanced around the hallways as she walked farther down. She heard a familiar voice around the corner, she leaned against it and listen to the conversion. Logan suddenly lifted his head, smelling a new presence around them. He looked back down to Jacinta and grinned. "You've got company, kiddo. Perhaps I'll leave you to deal with them, eh?" he said, turning around as he began to walk away from her. Jacinta held out her arm to stop him, realising it was no use, and retracted her vectors before they got to him. "  
Not today," she whispered to herself, feeling the blood begin to pour out of her nails underneath her gloves. "Who's there then?" she called, hoping it was Kitty so she could get in there quicker. Hayleigh slowly slid across the wall, trying to return to the elevator.  
Oh great, it is the girl from yesterday Hayleigh thought, sliding further across the wall.

The door slammed open again, then Hayleigh struck her head out to explore. the hallways were like sometime out of a sci-fiction movie. Mental, high- tect, and all the doors all had the same 'x' on them, she slowly glanced around the hallways as she walked farther down. She heard a familiar voice around the corner, she leaned against it and listen to the conversion. Logan suddenly lifted his head, smelling a new presence around them. He looked back down to Jacinta and grinned. "You've got company, kiddo. Perhaps I'll leave you to deal with them, eh?" he said, turning around as he began to walk away from her. Jacinta held out her arm to stop him, realising it was no use, and retracted her vectors before they got to him. "  
Not today," she whispered to herself, feeling the blood begin to pour out of her nails underneath her gloves. "Who's there then?" she called, hoping it was Kitty so she could get in there quicker. Hayleigh slowly slid across the wall, trying to return to the elevator.  
Oh great, it is the girl from yesterday Hayleigh thought, sliding further across the wall.  
Hayleigh moaned, as Jacinta called out. She felt her heart beating faster, drawing her breaths quickly. She froze. Jace turned her head towards where the elevator was, seeing Hayleigh once again. She grinned, raising her hand into a wave as she saw her. "Oh, Hay-Barn, how nice to see you again. You ready for what's coming?"  
Hayleigh turned her head only to see the kind smiling face of Jacinta.  
"Oh hey, I was trying to find the kitchen, now if you don't mind me, I think I might try again" Hayleigh smiled as she bolted towards the elevator. Grinning, Jacinta let the girl run a few feet before allowing her vectors to come up and out of her skin, shooting towards the girl as they finally grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "Hey, you don't wanna leave me in here by myself now do you?" she laughed, looking out to where various things were beginning to appear out of the walls.  
"Well,kinda, and I think you can do whatever this is on your own" Hayleigh said, struggling against the vectors. She felt the vectors almost pierce her skin, she grunted as she began to feel angry.  
"Put me down" she screamed.  
"I'm not putting you anywhere unless you agree to help me in here," she grinned, sending one of the vectors off to try and get at one of the lasers that came out near her.  
"Just bloody help me, and I'll take you to the kitchen, yeah?"  
"But i don't know want to do, this room is going to kill us" Hayliegh yelled, she duck as she tried to dodge the lasers.

"This is a freak show" she thought. As her stomach growled."It's not going to kill us if you just agree to help. I'm not putting in all of the effort you know," she grunted, putting the girl down as she used two of her vectors to lift herself up off the ground out of the line of one of the lasers.  
" Okay ! Okay ! , i will help, just tell me what i have too do" Hayleigh said , as she dodge more laser, then a silence, she heard a swirling sound. she dare not to look around , as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She saw two spinning blades, draw close to her face, before she ran under Jacinta's Vectors.  
"Ain't it obvious?" she laughed, watching the girl run under her vectors. For a smart kid, Hayleigh was acting pretty dumb.  
"You think that's going to help you?" she asked, shifting her vector out of the way as she tried to avoid the spinning blades.  
"Where the bloody Hell did Logan go?" she wondered, thinking aloud. "It'd be so much easier if he could get his arse into gear and think about someone other than himself for once."  
" Okay ... Obviously it isn't that obvious, to normal people." she yelled run against the wall.

" Yes it will, cause i will be away from thoses" she pointed to the Blades and the lasers. She ran towards the door, and began to hit it very hard trying to force it opened, though after a short time, she just hit her head against the wall. Saying I am going to die, over and over again.  
"Get over yourself kid," she called out, facing the lasers and blades by herself. She used one of the vectors to dismantle the blade from afar, using another to try and point the laser elsewhere.  
"Come over here and get on with it, rather than feeling sorry for yourself." She hopped over another blade before being hit by a laser that sent her flying back into the wall. Hayleigh was in a fury rage, she felt the burning energy, the same that she had felt that day. The pulsing energy linger inside her, pushing through the cracks. She clenched her fists, her highlight spreading across her head, her eyes beginning to glow.  
" STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO" She screamed. she began to floated a small distance above the ground.  
"I'm not telling you nothing kid, but if you're not gonna at least try to save yourself, I might as well not bother." She sighed, holding her head for a minute as she got up and ran flat out towards another laser, hopping over it at the last second so that she could dismantle the thing.  
Hayleigh felt the energy begin to spread throughout her body. she smirked as she ran towards the guns and lasers. slowly pausing, lifting her hand, releasing the energy through her hands.  
"Happy now, " she yelled as more guns appeared." you have got to be kidding me"  
Happy? Was the girl really asking about happiness at a time like this? Jace was never happy, which was probably why she was snaky and confident almost 100% of the time.

"Well, I don't know about you... But I'm certainly not kidding anyone at all," she shouted, pulling another gun off the wall, allowing it to shoot out its load before throwing it backdown to the ground.  
Hayleigh formed her hands closer together as the energy pulsed together. She looked at jacinta.

"Fine, Let's finish this" she screamed, over the sound of the guns." and seriously who designed this thing "Jacinta laughed to herself, breaking other guns whilst dodging the different things that came at her. Turning around, she saw a blade come towards her head, and motioned to Hayleigh for some kind of help so that she didn't get decapitated.

Hayleigh saw a blade quickly heading off Jacinta's head, she paniced not knowing what to do. she pointed her hands together as the energy released in a large amount. the enregy caused her hair to fly everywhere as she shelided her eyes. the blade was turned to ash.  
All the weapons were returned into the wall, or floor as the program was finished. Hayleigh fell to her knees in exhaustion.  
Falling to her knees, Jacinta couldn't help but feel thankful for the girl who'd just helped her. "Cheers," she said slowly, her grin returning to her face.  
Logan looked through the window, smirking at the two girls had god-knows-what sent towards them, almost being sliced in two on several occasions. "You know, they're doing well for kids," he called out to nobody in particular.  
" Yes , they are, we must guide them logan, show them the right way to help use their xavier stated as he rolled in with storm.  
" Ah Yes the child is doing well here" storm said nodded towards the woman beside the man in the wheelchair.  
"Perhaps too good, should we make it harder for 'em? We know Crimson down there can take it, but what about new-meat? We can't assess her properly if she'd not being pushed." He looked to Xavier for some kind of back-up, but he barely nodded, too busy watching the girls in the danger room.  
" Indeed but she seems heist about her powers, something that needs to be look at further." Xavier said pushed his fingers togther in thought.  
" Yes Charles, but the child is just came here, we should give her time." Storm Suggested, glancing down at the girls.  
Grunting, Logan continued to watch them down in the room. "Look at them Storm, they're fine. Just send in a few more guns to get 'em going, it's not like they can't handle it at all now, is it?"  
" I agree Logan, but not yet just wait a moment" He said " I think Jacinta can handle it no problem but Hayleigh , we will have to see" Storm rised her eye brow at Logan.  
" Logan , just look at them"  
"I am lookin' at them in case you hadn't noticed. And to me, they're both lookin' pretty fine. Sure, Blondie in there can certainly hack it... who cares if shorty can't? They'll stick out for one another, it's just what girls do ain't it?" He turned around and eyed Storm, and almost mocking look in his eyes.  
" Logan , How hard did you set this program to?" Xavier asked as He watch Hayliegh run to the other side of the room. She looked as if she was going to kill someone, Storm and Xavier exchanged glances as the program began to release the blades.  
"Does it matter how hard I set it to? They're doing fine. Just watch them for a few more moments. I promise if they can't handle it, I'll go out of my way to help them. And seeing as that isn't what I set out to do, you'd better just keep looking." He was more than confident that they'd do it... they had to. Especially with that blonde in there with the attitude she had - what kind of a man would he look like if he went in there to try and help out someone like her?  
Xavier and Storm watched as the girls battled th weapons, though it was mostly Jacinta at first, until... Xavier saw Hayleigh suddenly become engulfed by the energy like the same day he had met her. only this time, it was not as much energy to make her golden. Storm's eyes widened as a blade went for Jacinta's Head. Storm tried to reach for the off button but she stopped herself.  
Logan grinned, his eyes widening as Jacinta's head was almost cut off. "Come on," he whispered to himself, willing Hayleigh to stop it. Of course, he would do anything to see the blonde girl in such a compromising position, and to see the ever-present smirk wiped of her face for even a second. The shorter girl however had managed to do something to the blade, as it was no longer there at all. "See what I mean?" he said finally, looking at the ash that covered the majority of Jacinta's torso.  
" Yes , i see Logan, you seen to know how to work with those Children" Storm agreed .  
Though the professor looked deep in thought, storm stood beside him.  
" Charles, what are you thinking about?" storm asked as the girls finished the program.  
"I'm thinking about how much of an asset they are to us, and how it would be if they were with Magneto. However, we've just got to be glad that they're still alive, no thanks to you Logan," he called out, looking over to the man that stood before him.  
" I agree with that, Charles" Storm laughed as Logan's face frowned.  
" The question is , what do we do now?, with her" strom pointed at Hayleigh, " Though i believe she and the other girl will be fast friends"

"We leave them," Charles said slowly. "We've got to let them develop themselves into something more, form a bond that will make them more powerful when they're together. Then we get them alone, and see what happens then."  
" Okay charles, if you dont mind i have to go water the grounds" Storm said smiling as she waved leaving Xavier and Logan alone.  
"Well thank God for that," Logan said finally, hearing Storm leave the room.  
"Do we watch them or not?" he asked the professor, pulling his hands out of his pockets.  
"I say, we leave them be, though you may peer if you want , Logan" Xavier chuckled, slowly watching the girls, deep in talk.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" the man asked, his voice becoming a little more rough as he looked at the professor with half-closed eyes, trying to assess him.  
" Don't worry , Logan , it was just a joke" Xavier said, Logan stood there arms cross and leaning against the wall. watching over the girls, eyes like a hawk.

Jacinta grinned, panting slightly as she began to stand a little straighter. Hayleigh looked at the girl, tall and sleek with her fitted suit gripping to her skin, accentuating each and every one of her stunning features - perhaps she was one of those people who had either been born beautiful, or like most of the X-Men, had enough free time on their hands to improve the cosmetic aspects of their lives, rather than trying to build the bridges into normality.  
They'd just survived God-knows what kinds of different dangers, but for now everything seemed stable. Hayleigh took a moment to catch her breath before wondering if she should be asking the other girl her questions, completely astonished by her power. It wasn't like the other ones she had seen, seeing as it could be used as both an offence and a defence. The arms she used were invisible of course, but if something touched them, they would ripple and become a sort of glassy-red colour before disappearing once again. Now that, she had to admit, was cool. Standing up straight again, she took a deep breath and turned to the other girl. "Well, that was tough. I'm pretty surprised that the two of us even survived it to be brutally honest," she mumbled, trying to get to the point as soon as she could. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, looking around the danger room once more. "I bet it's fun though, having a power like that, right? Just imagine all of the things you could do with them. How did you even realise that you had the ability to bring something like that out of your body?" Of course she knew how she would most likely be greeted - most mutants hated talking about the ways in which they found out about themselves, seeing as it was usually during some kind of tragic event. Jacinta's expression however remained unchanged. The older girl simply turned and cocked her head to the side, folding her arms as she looked down at Hayleigh.  
"You really wanna know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. It was still confusing to Hayleigh why Jacinta never even bothered taking her gloves off, but she assumed it was just something that she'd done for her entire life - they weren't even part of her suit. The smaller girl nodded, almost reluctantly at first, before building up the confidence to add a small "yes" to the end of it. Walking over to the wall slowly, Jacinta slid down into a sitting position, her long legs outstretched before her as she motioned for Hayleigh to do the same beside her. "Well," she started off, taking her gloves off for the first time in perhaps years, revealing her scarlet hands that were covered in what seemed like blood. How it was even possible that she could bleed like that astounded Hayleigh; surely nothing could get through those tough leather gloves, right? "I don't get it..." she mumbled, wishing she could grasp a hold of what was going on in this situation. The brunette took a moment to breathe and think about what it was that was even happening: she and Jacinta were sat in the danger room, just talking. That in itself is special, but now that she could see that the older girl was covered in blood, it made the situation all the more terrifying. Didn't she need help? She kept her mouth shut, hoping that the girl would continue.  
"Look closer," Jacinta told her, flashing her nails right in front of her face. Leaning in closer, the sixteen year old seemed to notice fresher blood underneath the girl's nails, and the drier patches covered the rest of her hand. So her nails were the source... was it some kind of disease? "I still don't understand..." she whispered, hoping that her curiosity wasn't going to annoy the other girl. Sometimes she felt like she was invading on people's privacy when she asked silly questions, but it was all for her own good so that she wouldn't disturb them again in the future. "You don't have to. It was a hard concept for me to grasp at first, but since the second time I hurt someone, I realised that those..." she nodded down to her bloody hands, "and my abilities... they're connected somehow. It's not just the blood though." She wiped a little bit of the fresh blood away from her nails, showing their natural colour before they faded into a sky blue colour. "It's like mood rings, and I've seemed to guess that light blue means there's an aura of calm - the blood, I can summon that when I want, but it hurts every time. Usually it only used to work if I was angry and in pain, but now I can control it as I please. The way I found out I had these was the worst night of my life, but then again, possibly the best. I killed my best friend by accident because she gave me this" Jacinta shifted her fringe to the other side of her face, showing the scar that ran down from her hairline to her jaw. Letting the fringe flop back down into its usual position, she replaced the gloves on her hands, smiling as she pulled them over her thumbs. "So, squirt, how'd you find out about yours?" she asked, her face brightening as her eyes sparkled - a sight that Hayleigh hadn't seen too often.  
Hayleigh looked at the other girl with wide eyes, taking a step back from her. "No, I can't go back... I just can't. No..." she mumbled, looking around as if she wanted to escape the place. There was only one way out of there, and it was behind the tall blonde that stood in her way. Dammit. She sighed, realising that there was no way for her to get out of there without being caught by Jacinta. "I won't let you convince me otherwise either... I know what you're all like, you and your stupid mind tricks. I'm not going back to the state, and you are not going to make me, understand?" She began to realise how aggravated she was getting, and suddenly noticed Jace's expression change into something she had seen all too often - one of amusement and laughter. That's it, the girl was laughing at her for not wanting to go back. She was about to ask what her problem is, before reluctantly pulling herself that it was definitely not a good idea at best.  
"You know, it would be so much easier for you if you just accepted other people's help," the eighteen-year-old muttered, turning away from Hayleigh. From the back, she still looked just as mesmerising with her wavy blonde locks flowing down to her waistline, and her suit still gripping to each and every distinct curve on her body. It was strange how everyone around the place seemed to look amazing in their suits, and weren't afraid to show everyone what it was like to be part of one of the best things that the world had ever seen. Perhaps this girl wasn't completely nasty after all. She ran to catch up with the older girl, making it out of the door to see that she was going straight ahead. "Jacinta, wait!" she called out desperately, hoping she would get another chance to make her choice. "I want you to help me." Her last sentence had been something of a lie, but more and more hope seemed to come to her as she contemplated it. That was what she needed after all - help.  
Why on Earth should I help you now? I tried, but you just said you didn't need it. Bugger off," Jacinta replied, not even bothering to turn her head. She disappeared off down a hallway, and Hayleigh gave up, stopping in her tracks once again. That was it - there was no help from her at all, so who else would be willing to try and aid her in overcoming this. She knew that if they tried to solve her problems with her state that she'd probably just leave and go back to the danger room to take everything out on whatever was thrown at her, but that didn't mean they couldn't help her with the other things she was going through, right? Walking off in another direction, Hayleigh decided that she would go look for Xavier - he'd know what to do, right?  
The corridors she walked through weren't the most interesting of all places, but at least she knew the vague direction in which she was heading. The professor's office was somewhere close by, and she was beginning to think that Jacinta had left her knowing that she would head off in this direction; it just seemed like something the girl would do. She grinned at the thought and carried on, knocking on the door as she came to it. Hayleigh waited a moment before hearing the voice in her head, telling her that she was free to come in. Perhaps Professor Charles Xavier's power wasn't that bad after all, at least she didn't have to stand outside the door for hours, just waiting until someone braver noticed her and allowed her to go inside. No matter how many things he'd done to her to get her here in this place, there was no way that Hayleigh could ever really hate Xavier that much. Opening the door, she took a look around the room and smiled - it was welcoming, to say the least, and no matter how uncomfortable she felt in the presence of her fellow mutants, Hayleigh couldn't help but feel welcome when the old man was around. He motioned to the chair in front of his desk for her to sit in, not saying anything to her either mentally or verbally. She obliged, sitting down on the comfortable leather that she had been forced into many a time. "So what is it that you came to see me about?" he finally asked her, his thinning lips moving for once, rather than using his telepathy. It was odd, but Hayleigh preferred it nonetheless.  
"Err..." she mumbled, wondering how to start. Could she really trust this girl? Of course she could. If the others knew, then Jacinta could know - it was only fair, after all. "It was late one night, I was asleep. I can't even tell if it was real or dream, because it felt too much like both. There was fire all around me, and I could swear I was burning, even though there was no sign of it on my skin. I couldn't breathe, but there was cold sweat running down my face. It was the strangest thing that has ever happened to me." Hayleigh stopped suddenly, remembering that night suddenly as if it was yesterday. The way her sheets had been burned and there was ash all around her, it felt like a nightmare that had come to life.  
After a few moments of silence, she finally answered his question. "I err, I don't know really. I just came to you to talk about a few things. Like the fact that I don't want to go back into the state in which I came from. I'm terrified of that place, you know what will happen if I go back, don't you? You can see it through my thoughts, and even perhaps your own, right?" It was a mouthful for her to get out, and she couldn't help but hope that he would see her side of things, and that he would be able to see how much it killed her emotionally to see what was going to happen if she did go back. The girl was beyond afraid, beyond terrified even perhaps. She looked at him, hoping that he wouldn't try to convince her to go back or anything else of the like, but instead he simply smiled at her and said "Right." It took a few seconds for her to register his words in her mind, but Hayleigh felt instantly better when it seemed like he understood what was going on. It was a comfortable feeling when he placed his fingers on her temples, as she just assumed that he was taking a moment to see what kinds of thoughts were going through her mind. Little did she know that he was trying to push away all of her fears of going back to the state. Slowly widening her eyes, she realised what he was doing. " No, stop ! " she said , pushing his hands away from her head, and shooting up from the chair heading for the door." HAyleigh, I was doing it to help you " Xavier stated as she froze in front of the door. " Why ? Why should you help me, I never helped you and I just want to never have been a mutant" She said in a sad tone, a tear fell down her face. The door perched opened, startling Haleigh causing her to jump. The door only revealed Logan, Logan simply rise his eyebrows.  
He smirked and raised his hand, pointing back towards the door. "I could leave if you-""No," Xavier said quietly. "I think we're done here. Hayleigh does not want our help, and we cannot force it upon her. We all know what happens when we're forced to have things happen to us that we don't want now, don't we Logan?" The professor nodded to him once more. "So what is it that you wanted?" Logan placed her hand against the door frame, blocking Hayleigh's way." What is your problem?" Hayleigh murmured. "Shorty, think about this offer, Professor can help you." Logan professor's expression remained unchanged, and Logan shot him a glance as if to say 'well? do something?' He kept his hand firmly placed in front of Hayleigh on the door, moving his eyes back down towards her" I don't want to accept his help, i don't need this" Hayleigh said trying to pushed pass Logan.  
But his hand remained in didn't budge, instead he just grinned down at her and motioned towards the professor.  
"Then what do you need? Being alone isn't going to help you short-stuff, trust me on that one. You need us, even if you don't want to think that."  
Hayleigh returned to the seat , she sat in before. Logan just remained a shadow behind her, she frowned. The professor leaned forwards, his hands in his lap with his fingers entwining one another.  
"Are you ready then Hayleigh? I'm going to have to do this one way or another, so if you consent to this, at least it won't be as much of a struggle."Hayleigh glaze darted between Logan and the Professor, her eyes widened as she realised what was happening.  
" Noooo, please dont do this, please " Hayleigh begged  
"Dear girl, it won't hurt a bit. I promise you, just hold still and you won't even feel a thing. It's for your own good, I promise..." he whispered, leaning further over to her as he place a hand on her temple.  
' Don't touch me, ' she yelled as she tried to stand up form her chair. He pulled his hands back down by his sides, hanging his head low. Little to his knowledge, Logan had walked up behind Hayleigh and was now wrapping his arms around her, pushing her back down into her seat.  
" Calm down, kid, this is going to help you a lot." he said placing her down into the seat as she buckled and thrashed against him.  
" No! Please i really dont want this" She shouted at Logan.  
Before she could move again, the professor quickly placed his hands on her once again, counting on the fact that Logan would hold her down just long enough for him to finish with the task at hand - releasing the girl's fears of the grunted and screamed in pain, Flasing images of the past events. Her hair flashed golden rays across the room. The intenser the memory the more she screamed until The professor was done. He withdrawn his hands, a brief pause when he had to reorder his thoughts...


	5. Chapter 4 New Mutant

A new mutant, Professor Charles Xavier strained himself, feeling the pulsing of various different mutants buzz around him, feeling them through the contraption they called Cerebro. There was one in New York, close to where they were - a female, by what he could tell. Pulling the device away from his own head, the man turned and wheeled his way back. "Storm!" he called out, waiting for the woman to appear . The door slammed open, as storm walked into the mental room. " Yes, professor, what did you find?" storm asked in interest of the subject."A new mutant, prepare everyone. I have a feeling this one's going to need a whole load of us to be there," he said slowly, stopping as he looked up at her.  
"Who have we got?"  
" Well There is Spike, Wolverine, Vectora, Shadowcat, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, cyclops , Myself and you, is that enough?" Storm asked politely.  
Logan appeared not long after she had finish her sentence."What about the girl, Hayleigh? Why don't we send her along with them. She needs the experience, and besides, perhaps it will ensure that she makes the right decision as to whether she'll join us or not." He nodded to Logan, who simply nodded back, looking around for anyone else who may appear.  
" Yes, Xavier but she doesn't have a uniform" Storm informed him. She glanced at the celebro screen, looking at the details of the mutants powers. Hmmm interesting powers she thought to herself  
"Let her borrow someone's, either that or just let her make do in her own clothes. We'll only use her if it is absolutely necessary."  
"Oh alright then, Logan will you tell the team to come to the blackbird hanger please" she said to Logan, as she leftd the room.  
"Yes sir," he said, looking down at the man in the wheelchair.  
"Ain't that your job?" he added with a smirk, walking out of the room as the professor stayed there for a moment, looking around the room before wheeling his way out. Logan walked around the mansion, trying to remember which room it was that Hayleigh slept in.  
"Bloody kids," he muttered to himself, passing a few of the younger students on his way around. He stopped one and asked if she knew where it was that the girl slept, but with no luck at all. Finally he was in luck when a door opened in front of him, revealing the body of the girl in which he'd been searching for.  
"You, you're coming with me. I'll explain once we're in the blackbird, now get in!" he said to her, grabbing her by the shoulder as they charged forwards.  
" HEY, personal space please, and let go of me, " She yelled" The Blackbird? .. wait that Jet ... oh no you are not getting me on that thing again" She dug her nails into the side of the door. She smirked, as she tighten her grip around the door frame.  
"Come on kiddo, don't make this harder than it has to be, let go!" he shouted at her, pulling at her shoulder harder as he tried to pull her away from the door.  
" I seriously don't do flying, really i am a land lover " she joked , as he pulled her harder,"noo... " she felt her hand slide slowly off the down frame. She watched the pairs of beady eyes of the other students watching her.  
"Just because you teenagers like to make a scene..." Logan muttered, pulling her away from the door finally.  
"Come on kid, just get in the jet and get over yourself."She frowned, she had lost the battle between her and Logan.  
" Stupid werido" she muttered under her breath, she felt Logan's hands grip her shoulder in a iron hold, he pushed her down the hallways, leading back to the elevator from before. Hayleigh felt the door slammed closer, stopping her from escaping anythime soon, though having a brawny man stood behing you didn't help either. the force of the lift pulling them further down into the firm grip on her shoulders remianed there. the door swooshed opened revealing a hanger with the Black Jet from when she first met the X-men, she frowned as more figures from that day emerged. There was Jean dressed in the all in one jumpsuit, all the suits looked amazing on them, she felt plain and normal, standing next to them. Logan nudged her out of the lift, she stumbled forward as the glaze of the team was turned towards her. trying to return to the evelator , Logan blocked her way , he smiled with a twisted look on his face. she grunted, as she walked to the back od the crowd.  
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Jacinta called out impatiently, her foot hitting the ground as she finally stopped using her vectors and put herself back down on the ground. Spyke nodded in approval and stepped forwards, making his way towards the jet. He was soon stopped by Logan, who put a hand on his back and pulling him away.  
"Not just yet, kid," he said, looking up to the professor. "That's right," the bald man said, "just wait one moment. Scott, Jean - why don't you address the situation at hand to the rest of them who aren't in the know."  
Jean and Scott nodded, stepping forward. Scott and Jean held themselves high as they began to explain.  
" Thanks professor, well .. team , a new mutant has been located in the center of new york, not to far from here." scott stated, he looked at Jean for her to continued.  
"Her powers only have surfaced yesterday evening, so we must approach her with kind, not scarying her. We will divide into 3 groups, Scott, Spkye and Kitty , Next Myself and Storm and then Nightcrawler, Jacinta , Hayleigh and Wolverine, Understand?" she said. Hayleigh's eyes widened, as everyone stepped on to the jet, she tried to shuffle back, only to hit Logan's chest.  
The jet landed, and Logan was the first to reach the door as it lowered to reveal the steps. He slowly walked down and waited out for his team, tapping his foot as he realised that Hayleigh wasn't going to be the most co-operative at all. "Why me?" he muttered, wondering why she couldn't have been put with Jean and Storm. Kurt appeared beside him, and Jacinta wasn't far behind him anyway. "Oi Blondie, get your friend will ya?" he called to her, wishing they could hurry up and get out of there.  
Spyke however dawdled, hoping that he could somehow get his way out of this and end up staying beside Xavier to "protect him" instead of going out with the others. This was not to be however, as he saw Scott motion towards him.  
"Oh brother," he whispered to himself, walking over to the older boy.  
Jean and Storm began to discuss which direction to search first. Kitty and Kurt were laugh together, and smiling. Though Logan just stood there with his arms crossed. The faint aruguing in the jet from Jacinta and Hayleigh, made Logan smirked as he leaned against the Jet : waiting. Turning back, Jacinta sighed and looked at the brunette in the jet. "Just come out and try and do something useful for once in your life okay?" she snapped at Hayleigh, not wanting to give Logan the satisfaction of her losing. "Otherwise, we're just gonna go without you. S'fine with me. Although I'd assume you'll get shredded by puppy over there with his claws, it's your choice."" ohh puppy , i am so scared, and i dont have to go " she said turning to glaze out her window. Jean turned around to see Jacinta leaning against the inside of the jet , talking to Hayleigh , she felt the urge to but in but she refuse , hoping Jacinta could persuade her to come out.  
"Fine, but I'm not going to make it easy for you to stay in here you know," she grinned, lifting one of her vectors in front of Hayleigh's face, grabbing a strand of her hair and pulling it, wanting to drag her out of the jet by it.  
" ow ow ow , let go of my hair" she screamed as Jacinta dragged her out of the jet, the attention was turned to the screaming girl. Jacinta smirked as she let go of her hair. Logan patted Jacinta on the shoulder, as a sign of ' good job'. Hayliegh frowned as she watched Logan , Jacinta and this blue ceature talk. she stared at the creature, his yellow eyes, and blue fur and tail, she felt the fear engulf her. Kurt felt slightly odd, feeling eyes on him. The boy looked over at Hayleigh and swiftly moved on his conversation with Jacinta, disappearing for a moment as he made his way to just behind where Hayleigh was standing.  
"Is it because I'm furry?" he asked her, holding out a hand to his face. "Are you allergic to animals?""No.. sorry i didn't mean to stare, i just remember you" she stated, though she had to force out the last word.  
She felt the over whelming guilt of judging him so quickly, he seemed funny and friendly.  
"Oh, okay," he whispered, looking down at himself still. He soon got over it however and looked over to Logan.  
"So then, Vhat are we going to do? Just stand around here for ze entire time?"  
"No," Logan replied quickly. "We're going to get moving, if you two don't mind," he snarled, looking over at Kurt and Hayleigh before eyeing Jace accordingly.  
"We're going to move out right now," he grimaced, beginning to walk off. "Keep up then Blondie, didn't just bring you so you could gawp at everyone now, did we?"Hayleigh watched as Logan and Jacinta walked away. Kurt smiled, grabbing her hand teleporting into front of Logan, he grunted. " what was that ?" she said panicing as she had seen that they had teleported away from the Jet. Logan looked at her , as if she was over reacting. Giving Kurt the evils, Jacinta stormed ahead, making sure to keep the rest of them in her view. "Bloody Hell," she whispered, turning around as she stopped. "Where are we even going?" she called out, annoyed by their little 'mission.'  
"Shut up Blondie, or I'll tie those vectors of yours around your neck. Keep your mouth shut, or I'll make sure that Crawly here teleports you to the absolute middle o' nowhere," called Logan, nodding to Nightcrawler for just a moment.  
" No .. but Logan seriously where are we going?" Hayleigh asked Logan, as Nightcrawler walked beside her.  
They continued walking down the block, waiting for Logan to answer." well!" Hayleigh yelled at Logan, seeing his face turn towards her. Nightcrawler watched as Logan sniffed the air, as if a dog during hunting season. Logan sighed, rolling his eyes.  
"I don't know okay? Why do you kids think I'll know where she is? Go ask the professor back there, he can read minds. Otherwise, you can shush your little mushes right up right now. Got it?"" fine, Blue can you please teleport and ask him, and wait... take me back to the jet" she begged, grabbed his fore arm, she felt the brush of the fur against her: it was soft not like she had thought it would be like. Kurt looked at the girl and obliged, not wanting Logan to say anything to him before he went. The two of them teleported right out of there, back to the professor.  
"You've got to be kidding me..." Jace muttered, looking beside her to where Logan was. After the incident just a year ago, she could never fully appreciate his company any longer, and felt the need to constantly battle him with petty insults. It seemed to work, and he was happy to oblige. "Just you and me, kid," he muttered looking down towards a café in front of them. "I'm getting food, you can stay here and wait for Kurt Cobain."  
Kurt and Hayleigh returned from the jet, Hayleigh had her eyes forced close, clenging onto Kurt for dear life. Cracking one eye open, she saw the amused face of Jacinta." Is it over?" She stammered out, looking at kurt she released his arm." sorry , i am kinda not used to teleporting." she giggled looking around. she smiled at the coffe shop, she stomach growled. Not now she thought to herself.  
"You get any information off old Xavier over there? Or are we going to just have to follow Mr 'I'm-so-full-of-myself' into that café over there?" Jace asked, hoping that the two of them would have some kind of useful info for her. "Oh, and how kind it is for you to stay with us Hayleigh."" Well i kinda had my eyes closed the whole time, when we ... proofed" she said smiling" but i did hear that she was sitting ina buliding , eating , what else did he say Kurt?"  
She turned to face Kurt, waiting to hear what blue boy smiled, proud of the fact he was actually going to be able to help out. "He said something about a café, so why don't ve follow Logan in there - you never know vhat ve might find?""One word for you guys: bye" she said darting into the cafe, eyeing all the cakes and cookies. from the corner of her eye, she saw a girl slipping a hot chocolate, she had eleltric blue hair , her eyes were a mixture of blue and strolled in, looking around for Logan more than the supposed girl she was looking for. She grinned, spotting him as he sat over in a corner by himself.  
"You feelin' a little lonely over there puppy?" she smirked, walking over to him as she sat by the table. Nightcrawler joined the two of them, sitting down beside them.  
"I suppose Hay-Barn's got a lead on the girl, so we're all done here, yes?"  
Hayleigh thought: Okay so how am i supposed to talk to her? would she want their help, unlike me, who refused took a deep breath and walked over to her table, she smiled at the girl. the girl peered up at her." Can i help you?" the girl asked politely" Well yeah there are no free tables, may i sit here?" Hayleigh said smiling." Sure , i be happy to let you sit here "" So... My name's Hayleigh Trueheart, what's yours?"" Mina Jarvis, nice to meet you" Logan watched the girls talk together, he watched their every move. Mina noticed Logan staring at her." God, that guy is staring at us, what is his problem?"" Trust me i ask myself that too" Hayleigh swung his legs underneath his chair, grinning as he watched Logan look over at the two girls every once in a while.  
"You like those two girls over there then?" he asked, unaware that it was sending Jacinta into a fit of giggles. She couldn't help herself any longer.  
"Of course he likes the younger girls, anything older than sixteen is just beyond him, right puppy?" she laughed, calling over to him. Jace knew that it would provoke him - but he wouldn't dare release his claws out in public now, would he? Hayleigh looked at Mina's food, she felt her mouth water. Mina glanced up at Hayleigh.  
" You can have it if you want, i dont want it" Mina offered, Hayleigh smiled and ate the donut with pleasure.  
" Mina, have you noticed any changes about your self at all, like your hair changing colour, or .." Hayleigh paused." Powers" Mina froze, and stared at Hayleigh as if she was crazy.  
" I have no idea, what you are talking about, Goodbye" Mina said before darting out of the cafe.  
" Well, okay this is my first time, telling someone join Mutant school" She whispered to got up as if to make a move and Jacinta kicked him back down, laughing to herself. "Hey Kurt, why don't you go get her and take her back to Xavier? We can't afford to lose her now, eh?" she said, keeping her foot firm on Logan's chest. She knew it would only annoy him more, and waved Hayleigh over to where they were sat. "Oi Hay-Barn, come help me calm the animal down, will you?"  
" Okay, how can i help" Hayleigh said smiling, though her expression was wiped off as soon as she saw how mad he looked.  
Jacinta laughed as Logan puffed out a sigh staring at just sat down next to Jacinta, watching Logan trying to calm down, trying now to run striaght after blue boy nodded and disappeared within seconds, heading out to where the blue-haired girl was now running down the street. "Hey look, we match!" he laughed, grabbing her arm. "Just hold still a moment there, and I'll get you back to Charles Xavier in just a moment. Save your questions for him!" They were gone before she could even respond.  
Grinning, Jacinta continued to keep her foot there, enjoying the little fiasco. "Well, for a start you can get him a glass of water - it's what you give to dogs when they get all het up, right? Besides, we don't want to drag him out of here with his tongue hanging out because of blue-girl over there now, do we?"" Jacinta , lets just go now, ready" Hayleigh said standing up from the table , walking towards the door. Jacinta and Logan followed after her. She paused in the middle of the street. Logan tapped her shoulders." I dont remember which way we came ..." she said .  
"Where's blue beast when you need him?" Jace called from behind, watching as Logan veered off towards the left. I swear he always seems to think he's right, Jace thought to herself, looking up and down before following yeah, and mean beginning and end of italics. " Why don't guys look down there, and i will look down there" Hayleigh said walking down the alleyway.

"Because that takes effort," Jace mumbled, following Logan once more. He grinned and walked a little faster, watching as Jacinta trudged behind him.  
"Better keep up, little stalker." Hayleigh followed at a distance behind Logan and Jacinta, feeling like a third wheel. She saw a small alleyway leading to the main road, she wondered: Maybe i could get a pizza or slip anyway from them. She slow her pace down, allowing move distance to be created, before shuffling a bit to the right. Logan carried on forwards, ignoring the two girls behind him. Wretched things, when would they learn? He caught sight of Jace beside him, breaking into a run. What on Earth was she doing that for?  
"Oi," he called out to her, seeing a vector fly past his face. Usually the things were invisible.. but just then, they'd been dark red Rolling his eyes, he realised what she was doing - racing herself. "Pathetic," he mumbled, shaking his head. Hayleigh watched as Logan and Jacinta fought, she used this to slip out of sight, down the alleyway. She slip and brushed against the bricks, only to feel the smell of fuel linger in the lungs. Jace made her way further into the alley, only feeling extremely disappointed in herself when she came to the end. This was obviously not the way they'd come to start with, and now she was stuck there with Logan. Fantastic.  
Hayleigh returned thinking she could get food later, she only came back to see that they were in the middle of a agurment, they went silent when she appoarched them.  
" Okay, so the Jet isn't that way, it must be up there." She said pointing to the top of the alley." So let's go already!" she said walking faster, trying not to be caught in the middle of the cat fight.  
Jacinta closed her eyes slightly, looking over at Hayleigh before nodding and walking over to her. On her way past Logan, they bumped shoulders and she couldn't help but grin when she heard him grunt slightly. "I'm coming, stoopid," she called out, purposely pronouncing her words as if she were some kind of fool. Hayleigh sighed, as they reached the end of the alleyway, she glanced back seeing Logan calling at her. she sighed, the black jet appeared. She saw the rest of the x-men, along with Mina. franictally shuffling his glaze between the figures.  
Logan looked at each of them, folding his arms as he kept his eyes fixed on the new girl. She looked surprisingly sad, being held up by Nightcrawler as various people tried to make contact with her. Whatever it was, she looked better off with them than she did when they'd first seen her. Hayleigh watched as Mina to talking to Professor Xavier, everyone else climb aboard the Jet, though she stayed and watched as Mina's eyes slowly looked better. The professor gestured to the jet, she was heist but climbed aboard. They flee into the night sky ...


End file.
